All of these thoughts are products of the mind, said Michalowicz.
"Because you didn't believe you could achieve it, no action was taken and you stayed seated," he continued.
The principle is applicable not only to life in general, but also to entrepreneurship.
"I'm here to tell you that entrepreneurialism is not about the great concept, it's about you."
Many entrepreneurs are solely concerned with coming up with original, "great" ideas that will revolutionize their respective industries. This is secondary, says Michalowicz. Those who fail are not taking action.
"A smart venture capitalist is looking for you," Michalowicz said. "Is this where you are focusing your attention or is it something secondary in your life? Are you taking the actions to support your project?"
Michalowicz was very candid about his personal life and used examples from it to solidify his argument. He chronicled how he hated accounting as a college student, but now loves it.
"In college I was a 'D' student in accounting," he said. "I hated it. My girlfriend would do my homework for me. Back then I believe accounting sucked. I didn't care about it. There's no way you'd find me at an accounting lecture. Now, however, I love accounting. It's one of the best subjects out there. It's all about money. I spend as much money and time as possible on accounting; I'm exploiting it to learn more about my businesses."
In order for Michalowicz to be good at accounting, he had to believe that he was good at accounting.
"If you believe you're good at something, you act like you're good at something. If you believe you're bad at something, you behave like you're bad at it," he said.
Michalowicz referred to this notion as the "great human thermometer." Human beings always want to be consistent with what they think themselves to be. If one is a great weightlifter, he will be happy on a good day whereas on a bad day, he will come up with reasons for not performing well, while assuring himself that it was an "off day."
Spring Break
Paul Simister, Your Profit Coach
posted 11/10/07 @ 2:57 AM EST
I like the comment about the €50 dollar.
I've sat in seminars where similar things happen. We just sit there thinking that there must be some trick until some brave soul takes the money. (Continued…)